Important Information for Current UVA Engineering Graduate Students

This page is designed to provide useful links and information for current UVA Engineering graduate students. If there is information you need that is not listed here, please contact the Office of Graduate Programs.

The University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science sponsors many events of interest to alumni, friends, faculty, students and the community. The events are designed to allow participants to stay informed about the Engineering School, deepen their connections, and broaden their understanding about what it means to be an engineer in today’s world. Check out the events page and mark your calendar to join us.

STUDENT INFORMATION SYSTEM - Students use the SIS for course registration and enrollment management, to keep track of financial aid and pay their tuition and fees, apply for graduation, and many other functions.

The UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA GRADUATE RECORD is the official source for all academic and degree requirements for graduate students. ALWAYS confirm requirements with your particular graduate program coordinator and director.

MS and Ph.D.: Submit a report of Final Examination, to be completed at exam.
You MUST also submit a Thesis and Dissertation Assessment form and (Ph.D. only) a certificate of completion of the on-line Survey of Earned Doctorates.

MS and Ph.D.: Official Cover and Approval pages which include the dean’s signature, to be completed at the final exam or after required corrections are complete.
No faculty/committee signatures are needed for these pages which become the first two pages of the thesis/dissertation.

MS/ME: Request approval of transfer credits/courses—will appear on UVA transcript (limit 6 in MS/12 in ME/ 15 in CGEP).
Must be processed at least two weeks prior to graduation (including receipt of official transcript with final grade).

Every graduate program in UVA Engineering assesses learning outcomes for each of its students. Assessment forms have been developed for each outcome and can be found in the Forms section above. ALWAYS confirm with your graduate program coordinator and director which assessment forms you need, or if you have any questions. A complete set of assessment forms must be filed for every student as a requirement for graduation from that program. The results recorded on the assessment form are not part of the normal grading process but rather are used to evaluate and improve the program.

Non-Thesis Master's Degrees
Non-thesis master's degrees (i.e. ME, MCS, MMSE) each require that every student be assessed on at least three outcomes. When a student produces a work product, the student may ask an instructor to assess its quality using the appropriate form. Each student must be assessed at least once on each required outcome.

If a program requires a project with a written or oral presentation, then that project is the logical vehicle for assessment. If a program does not require a project, then the student can submit work done as part of any graduate class for assessment. Technical reports or other publications which are not directly tied to a class are also acceptable. It is the responsibility of each student to ensure that the assessment forms are submitted. For the plan of study assessment, the student submits a partially completed form, signed by the program director (or designee). It is the responsibility of the program to complete the assessments and forward them to the Office of Graduate Programs.

Required outcome assessments (and forms) for each program are listed below:

Master of Science Degree
Outcome assessment for Master of Science degree programs in UVA Engineering is based on the thesis and its oral defense. The Thesis and Dissertation Assessment for the MS thesis must be submitted with the Report of Final Examination. The assessment form is to be completed by the examining committee at the conclusion of the examination and defense.

Ph.D. Degree
Outcome assessment for the Ph.D. degree occurs at three different points in the program: the qualifying exam, the proposal and the dissertation defense. The assessment of the qualifying exam performance is recorded on the program specific form. The program-specific form must be submitted with the Ph.D. Examination Report that records the result of the examination. The committee administering the exam completes the program-specific assessment form.

The assessment of the dissertation proposal is performed by the advisory committee at the time of the defense of the proposal. The examining committee completes the Engineering Dissertation Proposal Assessment at the time of the proposal defense and it is submitted with the Dissertation Proposal form.

The Thesis and Dissertation Assessment is completed at the time of the defense and is submitted with the Report on Final Examination. Also required is a list of publications. The assessment form is to be completed by the examining committee at the conclusion of the examination and defense. The assessment form is the same for both MS theses and Ph.D. dissertations.

Before the semester in which you expect to graduate, check requirements for your degree and review your plan of study with your advisor to be sure that you are on track to satisfy all UVA Engineering School and program requirements. Check with your graduate program coordinator and director for more specific information.

Requirements labeled as UVA Engineering Requirements including Course Credit Requirements, GPA for All Allowable Courses and Program Assessment Forms are UVA Engineering School requirements. All graduate courses you have completed or in which you are currently registered should show up under Course Credit Requirement. If a course appears to be missing, either it does not count toward the requirement (see restrictions above the course list), or you have already fulfilled the requirement without it.

Non-thesis master's degrees require that every student be assessed on at least three outcomes. The results that are recorded on the assessment forms are used to evaluate and improve the program, and are not part of the grading process nor do they become part of a student's record. Receipt of assessment forms is a requirement for graduation. See the Graduate Program Assessment section of this page for more information about assessments for each program.

It is the student's responsibility to ask instructors to submit the required assessments. When you have completed a work product, ask your instructor to assess its quality using the appropriate form. Don't wait until your last semester to begin this process!

Assessment forms should be submitted to your graduate program coordinator. When all three (or more) assessments have been received, they will be forwarded to the Office of Graduate Programs, and the Program Assessment Forms milestone on your Academic Requirements page will show Satisfied.

At the beginning of the semester in which you expect to graduate, do the following:

Apply for Graduation in SIS (Deadlines: February 1 for spring, June 1 for summer or October 1 for fall).

Log into your SIS Student Center, select "Apply for Graduation" from the "Other Academic..." drop down box. Select the correct program and degree, verify that your name is correct and as you wish it to be printed on your diploma. If you wish to make changes, you must contact the UNIVERSITY REGISTRAR'S OFFICE. For more instructions, see the SIS HELP CENTER.

NOTE: If you do not graduate in the term for which you applied, you MUST reapply in SIS for a later term.

Verify in SIS that you have satisfied all academic requirements.

Academic requirements of the degree for which you have applied to graduate must be satisfied. If you have more than one degree plan, you will see requirements for other plans. Requirements for degrees for which you did NOT apply to graduate do not need to be satisfied.

Transfer credits are not counted until a final official transcript is received from the institution's registrar and a REQUEST APPROVAL OF TRANSFER CREDIT FORM has been received and approved by the OFFICE OF GRADUATE PROGRAMS. If you are taking a course at another institution in the semester you expect to graduate, arrange for the official transcript to be sent to the OFFICE OF GRADUATE PROGRAMS as soon as possible after the grade is posted. Transfer credit requests, including the receipt of official transcript with final grade, must be processed at least two weeks prior to graduation. Requests for changes, exceptions or waivers to UVA Engineering requirements must be submitted to the Office of Graduate Programs using the REQUEST REQUIREMENT CHANGE, EXCEPTION OR WAIVER FORM approved by your advisor and program representative.

Other requirements are specific to your program. You must request waivers and exceptions from your program.

One final step:

Verify that grades are reported for all courses for which you are currently registered. If you are taking a graded course to satisfy a UVA Engineering or program requirement, you must earn at least a C. Your cumulative GPA must be 3.00 or higher. All courses, even those with grading options S/U, CR/NC or AU, must have grades reported in SIS before you can graduate. Watch your Academic Requirements Report in SIS as the semester grading period closes.

Why Electronic? Electronic submissions save library and departmental shelf space while providing world-wide access to UVA scholarly works. M.S. and Ph.D. candidates save time with a streamlined workflow. Students are no longer required to pay for printing and binding their manuscripts and submission of their dissertations to ProQuest. They are no longer required to visit the Office of Graduate Programs for a “format check” prior to printing, and to obtain the Director of Graduate Education's signature. Although students should keep potential readers in mind when they format their thesis/dissertation, there is no longer a need to rigidly conform to page size and margins. LIBRA will accept any single pdf document up to 100MB. Ph.D. candidates are no longer required to submit their dissertations to ProQuest, although they may do so at their option. Students may also choose to file for copyright protection.

Responsibilities: Because electronic documents enjoy wider distribution than bound copies, students must be even more vigilant about copyright issues. Dissertations and theses in Libra will be given the same world-wide access as those submitted to ProQuest. You may choose an embargo period for a specific period of time during which time there will be no access to the manuscript in Libra. Click HEREfor more information. Note that if you are a graduate student in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, only the title and abstract of your work will be visible to all users during the embargo period. Upon expiration of the embargo, the contents of your work will be visible worldwide. ALWAYS consult with your advisor regarding embargo before uploading to Libra.

There are no UVA Engineering School format requirements or restrictions. Students, advisors and committees are responsible for ensuring that theses and dissertations are clear, readable and professionally presented. Students are responsible for ensuring that they upload the final, approved version of their thesis/dissertation with the appropriate title and approval pages. Documents in Libra cannot be deleted or corrected.

At the beginning of the semester in which you expect to graduate, do the following:

Apply for graduation in SIS (deadline: February 1 for spring, June 1 for summer or October 1 for fall)

You must log into your SIS Student Center, select “Apply for Graduation” from the “Other Academic…” drop-down box. Select the correct program and degree, verify that your name is correct and as you wish it to be printed on your diploma. If you wish to make changes, you may edit your diploma name. Click "Submit Application" to complete the process. For more instructions, see the SIS HELP CENTER. NOTE: If you do not graduate in the term for which you applied, you MUST reapply in SIS for a later term.

Verify in SIS that you have satisfied all academic requirements (except thesis/dissertation defense and thesis/dissertation submitted to Libra).

Log into SIS Student Center, select “Academic Requirements” from the “Other Academic…” drop-down box. All courses with incomplete, no grade and blank grades must be graded before you graduate. Courses in which you are currently enrolled should be graded by the end of the semester. Contact instructors to resolve grading problems from previous semesters.

Academic requirements of the degree for which you have applied to graduate must be satisfied. If you have more than one degree plan, you will see requirements for other plans. Requirements for degrees for which you did NOT apply to graduate do not need to be satisfied.

Requirements listed above and including thesis submitted to Libra/dissertation submitted to Libra milestone are UVA Engineering requirements (title of the requirement group ends in "SEAS Requirement"). Requests for changes, exceptions or waivers to UVA Engineering requirements must be submitted to the OFFICE OF GRADUATE PROGRAMS (REQUEST REQUIREMENT CHANGE, EXCEPTION OR WAIVER).

Other requirements are specific to your program. You must request waivers and exceptions from your program.

Pay particular attention to COPYRIGHT CONCERNS with electronic submissions and the SUBMISSIONS CHECKLIST. If you use others' work (images, charts, drawings, photographs, computer programs, etc.) in your thesis or dissertation, you must EITHER obtain the copyright holder's permission OR make a good-faith effort to make a Fair Use determination. The Libra FAQ page has links to several Fair Use checklists and evaluator tools that can help you determine if your use to copyrighted material is covered under Fair Use.

Plan your time carefully.

In order to graduate, your thesis/dissertation must be submitted to Libra by the deadline for that term. The deadline is announced early in the semester by email, but you can count on it being sometime around the last day of classes.

You should plan your defense no later than two weeks before the deadline for submission. Some departments require that you provide your thesis/dissertation to your committee two weeks prior to the exam, and the committee should obviously be appointed before you surprise them with a draft of your thesis/dissertation. It may be difficult to find a time that is convenient for your entire committee to meet, so adding a couple of extra weeks into the schedule is recommended.

By mid-semester, or at least two weeks prior to the final defense: submit a FINAL EXAMINATION COMMITTEE FORM to request appointment of your examining committee. Talk with members about their schedules for the time frame in which you plan to defend. Pick a date and get it on their calendars. ** Summer session is short and it is particularly difficult to gather a committee in the summer. If you plan to graduate in the summer, push this step up to the beginning of the summer session or earlier.

At least one month before the end of the semester: Distribute your thesis to committee members.

At least 2 weeks prior to the deadline: Defend, complete any required corrections and additions, and have a final copy of your thesis/dissertation ready to submit before the deadline.

When you and your advisor agree that you are ready to defend your thesis or dissertation, do the following:

Take your REPORT ON FINAL EXAM, THESIS AND DISSERTATION ASSESSMENT, list of publications and completed Approval Sheet & Title Page to your defense. Committee members may sign the forms on the spot or may require changes and corrections to your thesis/dissertation before final approval. Faculty do not sign the Approval Sheet – typed names on this document only, please (with the exception of the dean and yourself, if desired).

Note: The thesis/dissertation title on the Report on Final Exam form is the final title we will use for your Libra upload. Please use the University of Virginia Registrar's DISSERTATION TITLE GUIDELINES for capitalization and punctuation.

Print the Certificate of Completion and email it to BARBARA GRAVES,UVA Engineering's graduate registrar. You may also email a copy to your parents and/or spouse to proudly post on the refrigerator at home.

M.S. thesis defense or Ph.D. dissertation defense milestone:

After you have completed all required corrections to your thesis or dissertation, and have submitted your Survey of Earned Doctorates certificate (Ph.D. only) to Barbara Graves, your program representative will sign the Report of Final Exam indicating that you have completed all requirements for your degree. That form along with the Thesis and Dissertation Assessment and Survey of Earned Doctorates certificate will be forwarded to the Graduate Studies Office. Your M.S. Thesis Defense or Ph.D. Dissertation Defense milestone in SIS (Academic Requirements) will show Satisfied. This may take a few days during the busiest time.

Upload your thesis or dissertation.

After your M.S. thesis defense or Ph.D. dissertation defense milestone is satisfied in SIS, you may upload ONE pdf document. Your pdf must include the appropriate title and approval pages as well as your complete, final, approved thesis or dissertation. The date of your thesis/dissertation should match the date of your degree (August, December, May) regardless of your defense date. Please note that the approval page shall include the typed names of your committee members, but not their actual signatures (as the signatures should not be posted online). If you do not have access to Adobe Acrobat Pro, or other software that merges pdf documents, you may reserve a workstation in the UVA Digital Media Lab in Clemons Library where you can scan your title and signature pages, and merge them with your thesis/dissertation pdf to create one document.

Go to LIBRA and follow the instructions to upload your document. Some fields will be pre-populated, others require your input. Please ensure that your upload document is complete; you will not have the option of replacing your uploaded document.

If your name is incorrect, you may edit it.

Your department will be pulled from SIS and is not editable.

You must enter your primary advisor’s UVA computing ID (not email alias). His/her name and department will be pulled from LDAP and are not editable.

You may enter an additional advisor.

The title of your thesis/dissertation will be pulled from SIS (entered from the "Report on Dissertation or Thesis Final Exam" form). You should verify the spelling and alphabetization of your thesis/dissertation title in your Academic Requirement report in the Student Center of SIS (under the Satisfied/Not Satisfied line) prior to beginning the upload process). If this is not your final, correct title, you may not edit it but please contact the UVA Engineering Office of Graduate Programs so that the title can also be changed in SIS before uploading.

Be sure the type of publication (thesis or dissertation) and level (M.S. or Ph.D.) are correct. If not, contact the UVA Engineering Office of Graduate Programs.

Abstract and keywords are not required but are strongly encouraged.

After you have successfully uploaded your thesis or dissertation, the Thesis Submitted to Libra/Dissertation Submitted to Libra milestone (in SIS Academic Requirements) will be set to Satisfied within 24 hours after you upload it.

One final step:

Verify that grades are reported for all courses for which you are currently registered. If you are taking a graded course to satisfy a UVA Engineering or program requirement, you must earn at least a C. Your cumulative GPA must be 3.00 or higher. All courses, even those with grading options S/U, CR/NC or AU, must have grades reported in SIS before you can graduate. Watch your Academic Requirements Report in SIS as the semester grading period closes.

Thornton A205B (across from the Stacks study room and next to Rodman Room)

To make an appointment, call the CAPS main number, 434-243-5150, and tell them you are an Engineering student.

CENTER FOR ENGINEERING CAREER DEVELOPMENT - UVA Engineering's powerful Center for Engineering Career Development is dedicated to connecting our talented and highly qualified graduate students with outstanding careers in industry, government and academia.

Charlottesville is a beautiful small city (population 40,000) nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in central Virginia. It is frequently at the top of popular rankings for the “best places to live.” The presence of the University of Virginia’s vibrant community of students, faculty, and staff is one of the primary reasons that this area thrives.

The safety and well-being of our students is among our highest priorities at the University of Virginia. We are committed to assisting all members of our community in providing for their own safety and security. Our safety program includes:

The UNIVERSITY POLICE DEPARTMENT (UPD), a professional police department that provides the same level of service offered by a municipal police department along with other services unique to an academic institution. UPD participates in a mutual aid agreement with other local departments and a cooperative patrol agreement with the City of Charlottesville.

AMBASSADORS PROGRAM, a service that provides extra eyes and ears on the streets and assistance including walking escorts in neighborhoods frequented by students

Federal law requires the University to publish an ANNUAL SECURITY AND FIRE SAFETY REPORT. The report includes information on crime prevention, fire safety, University Police law enforcement authority, crime reporting policies, and statistics about crimes that occurred during the previous three years on Grounds or in designated areas near the Grounds as well as in other locations specified by law. The document is available on the UNIVERSITY POLICE DEPARTMENT WEB SITE. You may request a hard copy of the report from the University Police Department headquarters at 2304 Ivy Road by calling (434) 924-7166 or writing to POLICE@VIRGINIA.EDU.

The CLERY ACT publication contains information about safety measures and statistics about crime in and near our University community. It also describes our e orts to combat alcohol and drug abuse.

The Notice of NON-DISCRIMINATION & EQUAL OPPORTUNITY describes UVA's policies and initiatives for preventing discrimination on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, veteran status, and family medical or genetic information, in its programs and activities as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, the Governor’s Executive Order Number One (2014), and other applicable statutes and University policies. The University of Virginia prohibits sexual and gender-based harassment, including sexual assault, and other forms of interpersonal violence.